


How We Became Us

by emzyyy



Category: Cats - Andrew Lloyd Webber
Genre: F/M, POV Alternating, character death but not major, from kittens to adulthood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 09:06:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19248094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emzyyy/pseuds/emzyyy
Summary: When they first met, she was the scrawny, annoying little kitten who giggled too much.  Though he couldn’t say much about himself, either.  Alternatively titled: Meetcute to Matecute.





	How We Became Us

**Author's Note:**

> A less-serviced ship that's a personal favorite of mine. I haven't written Cats fic in many years, so be gentle with me.

Snow was building up in the crevices of the sidewalks and the corners of the roofs they passed, which were becoming fewer and fewer.  Pouncival wasn’t sure if Tumblebrutus had fallen asleep or into a coma, but he had definitely stopped pulling his weight.  He squinted against the wind and continued to drag his brother.  Their destination was in sight.  They just had to get there.

Shelter was hard to come by, food even moreso.  The fat house cats usually sneered at the two little runts, but one had been kind to them.  (Not kind enough to _share,_ though.)  He told them there was a junkyard just outside of the city central where all kinds of cats gathered and took care of one another.  The Jellicles, he had called them.

So at first light, Pouncival and Tumblebrutus set out to find this mystical junkyard.  By the time they made it, and Pouncival was pushing his brother’s limp body through an opening in the wire fence, it was almost completely dark.

There was a large clearing in the middle, surrounded by piles of trash that looked like its own skyline.  A pale tabby queen stood at the edge of the clearing, sweeping snow piles with a makeshift broom.  When she looked up and saw them, her eyes went wide.

“Oh, Everlasting…  _Jenny?!_ ”  She tossed the broom to the side and bounded up to them, gently sniffing, tugging their eyelids and ears.  She smelled like flowers, but not sweet – something Pouncival couldn’t recognize.  Either that, or he was too tired and hungry to care.

Another queen, shorter and plumper, crawled out from under the bonnet of a rusted car.

“Get them inside and warm,” the first one instructed.  “I need my things.  I’ll be right with you.”  And she scampered back through a path carved out in the trash.

The plump one scooped Tumblebrutus up on her shoulder like a feather and tucked Pouncival against her side.  He nuzzled into her warm fur, sniffing her. 

“You poor little lambs!  Don’t you worry your fuzzy little heads one bit.  Jennyanydots is gonna take good care of you.”

She lifted up the bonnet just enough that they could slink in.  The car was warm.  Knit things hung from the ceiling and across the windows.  In one corner, an orange tom in a waistcoat lay curled up on a nest of blankets with two younger cats snuggled into him.  He flashed Pouncival a bright smile with only a tiny flicker of pity.  The other two stared at him curiously.

“Just lie right there, love.”  The queen – Jennyanydots – patted a quilt where she had already deposited his brother.  “I’ll get you something to eat.”

The quilt was worn and soft.  Finally able to get off his feet, Pouncival closed his eyes and about fell asleep on the spot.  Except for the creak of the bonnet unlatching again.

“But Mama, I wanna see them!” squeaked a new voice.

“You want to see them?  Fine.  But you know to keep your distance while I’m working.”  The other queen crawled through the opening, a knit drawstring bag clenched in her paw.  Padding in behind her was a small kitten an even paler color.  Her ears weren’t even fully standing upright.

“Jelly, there’s a candle you can use right over here, love.”

_Jenny, Jelly_ he silently hummed.

His eyes fell closed.  Then cracked open yet again when he felt a cold nose brush against his.  It was the little kitten giving him a sniff.  Up close, she had big yellow-green eyes and freckles.

“Is he dead?” came her squeak voice again, right in his ear.  If he had the energy, he would have swat at her.

“ _Etcetera!_   Manners, please!”  The taller queen grabbed her by the scruff and yanked her out of the way.  She pressed a warm bag to his head that had the same weird floral smell.

Then a cup of food was placed in front of him, and he forgot everything else.

 

~

 

The Jellicles accepted them with open arms, and it wasn’t long before Pouncival could barely even remember what life was like before them.  They were a family.  A chaotic, dysfunctional, adoring family.  Jennyanydots and Skimbleshanks looked after the two of them for the first few weeks, and then they found their own den: a cabinet buried high in one of the mounds.  Enough space for both of them and protection from the rain.  Pouncival especially loved the old rocking chair wedged directly above.  He liked to pretend it was a crow’s nest and the entire junkyard below was the ocean.

Pirates was a popular game among the group of playmates they had formed with the other kittens – Plato, Jemima, Electra, and Etcetera.  For Electra and Etcetera’s grandfather Gus loved to tell them stories about Growltiger the pirate.  In fact, he and Plato would often argue over who got to be Growltiger.  But once Etcetera made it clear that she wanted to be Lady Griddlebone every time, the role of Growltiger seemed less appealing to him.

Listen. He and Etcetera may have had the same friend group, but they were hardly friends themselves.  She was loud, overly excitable, nosy, and just plain embarrassing.  Case in point: she developed a habit of calling him “Pouncy” and refused to stop.  Tumblebrutus and Plato couldn’t help but snicker every time they heard it.

Electra was actually pretty cool.  Down to Earth and not afraid to get messy, and especially not afraid to embarrass Tumblebrutus.  But it was some unspoken rule that wherever Electra went, Etcetera went.

Their little gang was out behind the junkyard that day, just between the fence and the big ditch where water ran from the drain.  Pouncival and Jemima were the loyal followers to Electra’s Genghis, while Tumblebrutus took the role of Grumbuskin.  Everyone brandished a twig for a sword, except for Etcetera.  Naturally.

“At last!” Electra cried in her scratchy pirate voice.  “I shall meet my foe and rid of him once and for all!”

“Don’t speak about me like I’m not here, Genghis!” shouted Plato.  “How did you even know where to find me?  The last time we met, you were left stranded in the Green Sea!”

Electra laughed, then pointed her twig-sword at Etcetera.  “Your little cream puff left me a trail in every harbor.  All I had to do was follow it.”

“What?!” Etcetera shrieked, jumping off Plato’s arm like she had been shocked.  “No!  She’s lying!  I-I mean, _he’s_ lying!  I’d never do that in a million years!”

“I told you, boss!” Tumblebrutus grunted.  “This broad’s nothing but trouble!”  He poked her in the back with his sword.

She shrieked again.  “You butt out of this!”

“Griddlebone, how could you do this to me?” asked Plato.

“I didn’t!  Who are you going to believe?  Me or your sworn enemy?”

“How else would he have known we were in these waters?”

“Maybe he used a telescope like a normal person!”

“Boss, there’s no way we can trust her,” said Tumblebrutus.  “You brought her on board.  You decide what to do with her.”

Plato placed the tip of his sword underneath Etcetera’s chin.  “Listen here, Lady Griddlebone, if that _is_ your real name.  My ship doesn’t tolerate traitors.”

“Growltiger, you have to believe me!”

“Oi, just throw her overboard and let’s get back to the fight!” Pouncival exclaimed.  All this drama was boring him.

Plato cracked an eyebrow.  Glanced at Tumblebrutus.  Something passed between them.

“Grab her!”

Etcetera squealed and tried to hop away, but she was outnumbered.  Tumblebrutus caught her ankle, then Plato grabbed her arms.  She swung between them like a hammock.

“Let me go!” she giggled.

“Starboard side!” Plato shouted.  They inched closer and closer to…the ditch.

_Wait._   They weren’t actually going to…

Etcetra’s wiggling grew more violent, her eyes bugging out.

“Wait, wait, guys?”

Electra and Jemima dropped their acts as well.  “Guys, what are you doing?”

They swung her from side to side.  “Three…two…!”

“No!  _No!_ ”

They let go.  She hit the water with a hard splash.  It was deeper than it looked.  Plato and Tumblebrutus immediately went statue still.

“Cettie!” Electra hollered, crouching down at the edge of the ditch.

A head popped up.  Water splashed in every direction.

“ _Help me!_ ”  She screamed in a voice so desperate, Pouncival’s fur bristled.

The ditch had a current.  A slow one, yes, but not slow enough to eliminate the threat of Etcetera disappearing down the storm drain.

“You _idiots!_ ” Electra growled.  “She can’t swim!”

Plato and Tumblebrutus both dropped their sticks and bolted back to the junkyard.  “ _Jelly!_ ”

“Cettie!  Grab my paw!”  Jemima stretched out over the edge, extending her arm as far as she could.  She almost lost her balance when Etcetera flailed toward her.  Electra grabber her tail.

Etcetera still screamed, loud and shrill and throaty, but there were no words.  Just whines and sobs.

Pouncival cannonballed into the water.  He didn’t even realize he was moving until his ears and nose filled up.

_Get out get out get out_ his body screamed.  He could never be a real pirate in a million years.

He shot up to catch his breath.  Etcetera was still flailing, shooting water right into his eyes.

“Cettie, stop moving!”

The splashing stopped, but she still wiggled and bobbed in the water.  Pouncival didn’t have time to think.  He hooked his arms under her shoulders.  Kicked hard and fast.

“Grab ‘em!  Grab ‘em!”

Etcetera turned around and shot out when they reached the edge.  Then Pouncival felt a paw on his arm and he pulled himself up as well.

He shook.  Head to toe.  _Get the water off get the water off._   He licked his shoulders.  Paws.  Scrubbed his ears.

Etcetera hunched over and coughed.  Her fur was positively gray from the weight of the water.  Electra licked at her while Jemima nuzzled her shoulder (but not too close).

“Jem, can you go find my mama?  I don’t wanna leave her alone.”

Jemima nodded and scampered off, but she only got about five feet before bumping into a quite livid Jellylorum.

“ _Out of my way!_ ”

“Found her.”

“Plato and Tumble did it and then Pounce jumped in and saved her,” Electra explained all in one breath.  She moved to the side so their mother could look Etcetera over.

“It was Pouncival’s idea!” exclaimed Plato, he and Tumblebrutus following behind.

Pouncival dry heaved.  His claws dug into the dirt.  “It was a _joke!_   I wasn’t brain dead enough to actually think you’d throw her in!”

“ _Enough!_   All of you!” Jellylorum growled.  She turned to Etcetera, softening considerably.  Very few things scared Pouncival more than Jellylorum in full Mother Mode.  “Sweetie, are you hurt at all?  Do you feel funny?”

Etcetera shook her head.  Stuck her tongue out so Jellylorum could look at her tonsils.  “Pouncy saved me.  It’s not his fault.”

Jellylorum was quiet for a second.  Then gave Etcetera’s forehead a few licks.

“You’ll be fine, thank Everlasting.  Let’s just get you inside and dry.  Both of you.”  She glanced at Pouncival.  Then at the other toms.  “You two are by no means off the hook!  I’ll deal with you later!”

“Yes, Jelly,” they meowed in unison.

She then led them in a march back to the junkyard.  Everyone was quiet.

Pouncival felt eyes on him, and when he looked up, Etcetera was smiling at him.

“What?”

“I didn’t know you could swim.”

Pouncival blinked.  Whatever he did back there in the ditch, it wasn’t swimming.  He had never done it before.  The closest he ever came was falling into a puddle.  Not to mention, like the other ninety-eight percent of his species, he despised water.

Of course, he wasn’t about to let Etcetera know any of that.  But he couldn’t lie and make himself out to be some freak swimming genius cat, either.  What if they asked him to do some kind of water ballet at the next ball?  So he just said:

“You’re way too happy for someone who almost drowned.”

“Thanks for saving me, Pouncy.”

His nose twitched at the nickname.  “Anything to get you to stop screaming,” he muttered.  But the words were…hollow.  Maybe it was his gross, damp fur.

When he glanced at her again, she was still smiling.  He rolled his eyes.  But he smiled, too.

Etcetera was still annoying and embarrassing, but maybe he didn’t hate her as much as he thought.

 

~

 

_So Etcetera, I guess you’re heartbroken by the news?_

_Cettie, did you hear about Tugger?_

_You must be devastated that he’s off the market._

Everyone and their mother had been pestering her with questions and prompts all day.  The long time object of her greatest affections, The Rum Tum Tugger, had very recently been mated to Bombalurina.  It was the biggest talk of the junkyard in a long while.  She was beginning to feel like a Pollicle being coaxed for tricks. 

A moment to herself.  That’s all she needed.  So she made her way to her trapeze.

It wasn’t technically hers.  It had been there since before she was born and she hadn’t properly claimed it, but she definitely used it the most.  She loved being high up, just a breath away from freefalling and flying at the same time.

With a decent bit of momentum, she hung from her knees and stretched her arms out into the wind.  She was lost.  Deliriously lost.  The junkyard faded into the background and she was so free, she almost didn’t notice the patched eye looking back at her when she swung toward the ledge.

“Pouncy--!”  Her body jerked.  One knee slipped off the rung but she managed to grab the rope, scrambling to an almost upright position.

Pouncival fell onto his back laughing, now revealed from his hiding place.

“You scared the daylights out of me!” Etcetera gasped.  She jumped back on the ledge and swatted at his ear.  He didn’t even duck, he was laughing so hard.

“You should have seen your face!” he wheezed.

“You should see _your_ face when I’m through with you!  Come here!”

She leaped at him, but his instincts had returned by that point.  He missed her by a hair and darted down the path.  She chased him around the clearing, over the big car, and up the hill toward his den.  He tried to escape inside, but she managed to land on him with a strong nip to his neck.  They both collapsed in a heap.

Now it was Etcetera’s turn to laugh.  Even as Pouncival pushed her off, she rolled around and clutched her stomach.  She didn’t quite know what she was laughing at, but it came easy with him around.

Pouncival was her best friend.  That was an undeniable fact now.  She had always liked him; always thought he and Tumblebrutus were fun to be around.  But as they had grown older in the past couple of years, Pouncival was her go-to.  Her plus one for everything.  Her favorite person to be with.  That used to be Electra, and while she would always be her sister and love her dearly, they were finding more differences in their personalities as time went by.  Electra had matured quickly, wanting to protect the tribe like Munkustrap and Alonzo, while Etcetera still had the energy of a kitten.  And Pouncival’s adventurous nature complemented her beautifully.

As her laughter died off, she rolled closer to the edge of the hill.  She could almost see the whole junkyard from here, it was so high up.  The whole composition of it, the little dots of movement as cats went about their evening…it reminded her how much she loved her home.

“You two have the best view up here,” she hummed.

“It’s not bad,” he said, sitting down beside her.  A little silence passed between them.  Pouncival’s tail flicked.  “So…”

“So?”

“You’re not even gonna talk about it?”

“Talk about what?”

Pouncival cocked an eyebrow at her.  It only took a moment to click together.

Etcetera groaned.  “Not you, too.”

“I’m just checking on you!”

“I’m fine.  Really.”

“You are _not_ fine.”

“It’s not a big deal.  It won’t even last, you’ll see.  This is just what they do.  They’re together a few weeks, they’re not together a few weeks.”  She said all of that, yes.  But did she believe it?  The jury was still out.

“That was just courtship, though.  _Mating,_ now that’s a pretty big deal.”

Etcetera huffed.  “Well, what about you?  I remember you having a pretty big crush on Bomba at one point.”

Pouncival cleared his throat.  His ears twitched.  “It wasn’t a _crush._   It was…I mean, look at her!  Who hasn’t thought about being with her at least once?”

“You just want me to be more miserable than you.  But I’m not.  So ha.”

“Well, there’s other ways of doing that.”

He jumped on her.  She didn’t have the time to react because they were so close together.  He pinned her onto her back.  Swatted at her paws.  Nipped at her ears.  She shrieked.

“Pouncy, stop!”

He stopped his attack but didn’t let up his hold on her.  They both chuckled and… _wow._   Etcetera knew they weren’t scrawny kittens anymore, but where did Pouncival get muscles from all of a sudden?  And when did his eyes start to sparkle like that?  Was it just the fading light of the sunset?  He was still the same Pouncival, though.  Same messy head of gray and brown fur.  Same boyish cheekbones.  So why was she looking at him like she hadn’t seen him in a million years?

“What?”

“What?” she echoed, a little too quickly.

“You okay?”

“Um…”

“ _There you guys are!"_

Tumblebrutus’ voice made them both bristle.  Pouncival jumped off her in a heartbeat.  They both sat straight, not looking at each other.

“I was wondering where you…everything okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Swell.”

Tumblebrutus tilted his head, like he knew something they didn’t know.  “Okay.”

 

~

 

“Mama?” she asked when she went home that morning.  “How do you know when you’re in love?”

Jellylorum sighed.  “Etcetera, if this is something about Tugger, I’m sorry but I simply don’t have the energy.”

“But…”

But it wasn’t about Tugger.

 

~

 

The day of the Jellicle Ball had arrived yet again.  Everyone was consumed as usual with impressing Old Deuteronomy (as well as keeping Macavity at bay, though no one would admit that out loud).  Pouncival, on the other hand, only had one thing on his mind: Etcetera.

Listen.  Pouncival wasn’t the kind of googly-eyed tom who always had queens on his mind.  (Usually.)  And Etcetera, of all cats?  Please.  She was his best friend.  His goofy, giggly, dorky best friend.  But that didn’t stop her giggles from giving him butterflies these days.  Or stop him from finding any reason to nudge up against her, even if that meant starting yet another wrestle match.

He didn’t want to acknowledge what was going on.  But he did believe in signs.  And the Jellicle Ball was the most important night of the year.  If something was to happen, it would happen tonight.  He could feel it in his bones.  And whatever happened…well, he would just run with it.  Like usual.

“ _Oh, Pouncy...!_ ”

Etcetera’s sing-song voice made him jump.  Speak of the devil.  He thought she would have been trying to get one last good nap in before the excitement began.  Yet here she was, running up the path to his den.  Her fur even stood on end like she was conducting her own electricity.

“Whoa, where’s the fire?”

She hopped up onto his rocking chair and peered down at him over the edge, tail flicking wildly.

“You have a secret admirer!”

Pouncival blinked, sitting a bit more upright.  “I have a _what now?_ ”

“I’ve been sworn to secrecy so I can’t reveal any names, but there is a certain queen around here who is quite enamored with you.”  She jumped down to his level, but started to sway on her feet.  She couldn’t keep still.

“And you’re telling me this why?”

“Because, doofus!” she exclaimed, swatting his shoulder.  “She wants to meet with you!  Sunrise.  Right after the ball.  In the west clearing.  _Alone._ ”

“I hope you realize how much this is sounding like a threat.”

She made something between a scoff and a whimper.  “Pouncy!  You have to say yes!  Otherwise I’ll have to tell her you said no and she’ll be heartbroken!”

He couldn’t help being ornery.  The queen he maybe (definitely) had feelings for was trying to set him up with somebody else.  And judging by that eager sparkle in her eye, it must have been one of her friends.  he’d break two hearts if he said no.

This wasn’t exactly the sign he’d been hoping for, but it was a sign nonetheless.

He scratched behind his ear.  Sighed.  Then said, “Fine.  Tell whoever it is I’ll be waiting for her.”

Etcetera’s face lit up and she jumped into the air. 

“You’re the best, Pouncy!”  She gave him a quick nuzzle on the forehead – quick enough to almost be considered a bump – then disappeared back from whence she came.

Pouncival waited until she was far out of sight before pushing a long, slow exhale through his teeth.  He might have found this whole arrangement exciting at one point, just for the sake of having any queen interested in him at all.  But he wasn’t that same Pouncival anymore.  He didn’t want to settle for just anybody.  Etcetera may not be his “one for life” – he didn’t really believe in that stuff – but she was certainly his one for right now.

Everlasting, when did he get so sappy?

 

~

 

The ball was a frenzied moonlit blur as usual, but the ending was a stark photograph Etcetera didn’t want to remember.

Her father Asparagus had been chosen.  Chosen by Old Deuteronomy to go to the Heavyside Layer.

It was a great honor, yes.  She knew that.  Perfectly understood that.  And she was no stranger to the effects of the choice.  Just the year before, her grandfather was chosen to be reborn.  It was hard, yes, but ultimately for the better.  Grampa Gus had been old and feeble, lost in his memories.  Completely dependent on her parents to do the most simple things.

But her father…that was something else entirely.  He wasn’t a young tom, but certainly had a lot of life left in him.  He still served to protect the junkyard from time to time.  He had a brilliant, cheeky sense of humor.  He made her mother so happy after a long day of treating injuries and wrangling the local kittens.  He was her _father._

She could barely look Old Deuteronomy in the eye after the ball came to an end.  She didn’t even really want to be with her mother and sister.  They would just go on and on about “honor” and “tradition” while trying to keep a stiff upper lip.  Etcetera didn’t want to be trusted to hold her tears back.

So she found a secluded spot and just cried.  Her chest heaved.  Her vision blotched.  Everything was raw.  She didn’t even notice the sun peeking over the skyline.

Maybe she would meet her father again in this life.  Maybe she wouldn’t.  Would she even know him if she met him reborn as another cat?  Would he know her?

“Cettie?”

She jerked.  Poked her head out from her hidey hole.  Pouncival stared back at her with the most sober expression she had ever seen on his face.

“Do you want to be alone?”

And that’s when she realized she very much didn’t want to be alone.  So she shook her head and stretched out her arms.  He fell down beside her and held her close without a word.  She sobbed into his fur, ragged and whimpering.  He just stroked the back of her head, but never once told her to shush or that everything would be okay.

It took a while, but she finally got to a point where she just leaned against him, breathing.  How did he do this so well?  Make her feel so comfortable in her own skin?  Why, among all the other toms in the junkyard, did it end up being him?

A beam of sunlight caught her eye, bouncing off something metal.  Ah.  Of course.  The icing on the cake.  Her little master plan had failed due to unforeseen circumstances.

“You’re supposed to be in the west clearing,” she mumbled, poking his leg.

“I waited.  She never showed.”  He squeezed her shoulder.  “Besides, I had more important places to be.”

Something fluttered in her chest.  No.  Not even a flutter.  Something was flapping, preparing for flight.  The outside edge of her was still raw and numb from everything, but underneath that she was right back to vibrating jelly.  Just like that afternoon.  She lifted her head off his shoulder.

“It was me.”  Her voice was so soft, she barely heard it herself, but Pouncival’s ear unmistakably twitched in her direction.  He stared at her.

“What did you say?”

She swallowed.  She was so tired and still a bit moon-dazed.  It wasn’t the right time.  But her heart kept thumping and her mouth kept moving.

“I was the one you were going to meet.  I couldn’t tell you outright.  I was afraid you wouldn’t believe me or take it as a joke.  But it’s not.  I like you.  A lot.  I actually think it’s love.  But I don’t want to scare you because you’re my best friend in the world and I know that I can be a lot, but if I didn’t say something, I thought I might just explode—”

“ _Etcetera._ ”  He cupped her cheeks in his paws.  She forgot how to breathe.

“What?”

“Just shut up for a second.”  And he kissed her.

It was clumsy.  He needed a couple tries to find just the right position, and he knocked her teeth at one point, but she didn’t care.  It was sweet and warm and her body felt deliciously whole.

He pulled back and they just breathed together again.

“I had hoped it would be you,” he whispered.

 

~

 

Pouncival was lucky.  Though it didn’t seem so all the time, it was true.  He was lucky he found a family and a community to take care of he and his brother in dire straits.  He was lucky he never seriously injured himself jumping around the junkyard like a maniac.  And he was especially lucky because of the queen he was currently snuggled up to.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Yes, you are.”

“Shut up.”

Etcetera stared out over the clearing, the warm light of the sunset making the golden patches in her fur glow positively orange.  A rare gentle smile lit up her face.  The view did that to her.  She loved being high up.  Watching the entire junkyard work as a single organism.  And she especially loved his den.  Arguably more than he did.  Which was convenient, since she lived there now.  After they became mates, Tumblebrutus was only too eager to give up his spot in favor of something closer to the ground (and closer to Electra, but that was another story).

It wasn’t all glitter and rainbows all the time.  They had their share of fights.  Usually about stupid things, but some serious stuff wheedled in there, too.  And more often than it seemed on the outside, he was terrified he would mess everything up.  But at the end of the night, they were still together.  They were partners.  They were a team.  And that was both all he wanted and more than enough.

He squeezed the arm wrapped around her midsection, which coaxed the sweet crackle of a purr from her throat.

“Pouncy?”

He grunted in reply, nuzzling his face into her shoulder.

“How would you feel about kittens?”


End file.
